Old Age and Survivor's Insurance

Where a claimant in June 1960 was found entitled to disability insurance
benefits beginning in July 1957, legally adopted a child in January 1961,
and filed application for child's insurance benefits on behalf of the
child in March 1961, held, no child's insurance benefits are
payable under section 202(d) of the Act as the adoption occurred more than
24 months after the month in which the claimant became entitled to
disability insurance benefits.

In April 1957, R filed application for disability insurance benefits.
This claim was initially disallowed because it was determined that she was
not under a disability. In November 1959, R initiated legal proceedings to
adopt C who was neither her natural child nor her stepchild. C was over 18
years of age, had been severely disabled from birth, and for many years
had been cared for and supported by R in her home. In June 1960 at R's
request, the Administration reconsidered its initial denial of the claim
for disability insurance benefits and awarded R disability insurance
benefits beginning July 1957, the first month which, by law, any claimant
could have been so entitled. The final decree of adoption was entered in
January 1961 and on March 8, 1961, R filed application on behalf of C for
child's insurance benefits on R's earnings record.

Under section 202(d)(1) of the Social Security Act, as pertinent here, a
legally adopted child of a worker entitled to disability insurance
benefits can upon the filing of an application become entitled to child's
insurance benefits if (in addition to other requirements not herein at
issue) such child:

(C) was dependent upon such individual --

(i) if such individual is living, at the time such application was filed,

* * * * * * *

(iii) if such individual had a period of disability which continued until
he became entitled to * * * disability insurance benefits, * * * at the
beginning of such period of disability or at the time he became entitled
to such benefits, * * *.

Section 202(d)(1) further provides that "* * * clause (i) of subparagraph
(C) of this paragraph shall not apply to a child of such individual unless
he (A) is the natural child or stepchild of such individual (including
such a child who was legally adopted by such individual) or (B) was
legally adopted by such individual before the end of the twenty-four month
period beginning with the month after the month in which such individual
most recently became entitled to disability insurance benefits, * *
*." (Emphasis added.)

In order to meet the dependency requirement at any of the times specified
in section 202(d)(1)(C), the necessary parent- child relationship must
have existed at such point of time. In this case it is clear that no legal
parent-child relationship existed between R and C until the adoption
decree was entered in January 1961. Since R had become disabled prior to
becoming entitled to disability insurance benefits and since she became
entitled to such benefits prior to January 1961, the points of time
specified in section 202(d)(1)(C)(iii) cannot be used in determining
whether C had met the dependency requirement.

R contended, however, that the point of time specified in section
202(d)(1)(C)(i) (i.e., March 8, 1961, the date the application for child's
insurance benefits was filed) could be used in determining whether the
dependency requirement had been met. She contended that since she was
awarded benefits in June 1960, the requirement of the law would be met if
the adoption of C was accomplished at any time before July 1962, the end
of the 24-month period after the month in which R "most recently became
entitled to disability insurance benefits."

The issue in this case, therefore, is whether the phrase in the law "most
recently became entitled to disability insurance benefits" refers to the
date on which the administrative decision was made that the claimant was
entitled to benefits, i.e., June 1960, or the date which the
Administration determined the claimant became entitled to disability
insurance benefits, i.e., July 1, 1957.

It is clear from the language of the law that the date of entitlement
referred to therein is the date as of which by law the claimant has
fulfilled all prerequisites to entitlement to benefits regardless of the
date of the administrative determination of entitlement. Thus, in this
case, R's entitlement occurred in July 1957 when all requirements therefor
were first met, and not June 1960, the month in which the Administration
first determined a benefit to be payable.

Since none of the points of time specified in section 202(d)(1)(C) could
be used in determining whether C had met the dependency requirement, it is
held that C is not entitled to child's insurance benefits.

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